Tuesday, January 24, 2012

ICC: Uhuru, Ruto, Muthaura, Sang to Stand Trial

Updates

President Kibaki is playing hard ball after ICC tried to get to him through proxy. You see technically, in government operations, Muthaura is the President’s ‘enforcer’ and meets and talks with him daily. So convicting him amounts to convicting the boss albeit indirectly.

In response Kibaki has smartly hinted to the ICC that he is changing the goal posts following their ruling on the Ocampo 4. You don't have to be a genius when you read in between the lines of the statement: ''The President said with the new Constitution, Kenya now has a "RADICALLY" transformed judiciary system as well as a functional witness programme along with a police service that is undergoing reforms. In other words the ICC may be told as dissenting Judge Hans‐Peter Kaul pointed out the charges are equally actionable before Kenyan laws and will be dealt with LOCALLY.

President Kibaki has gone further to make the ICC ruling a government project. It is no longer about individuals accused and Kibaki has accordingly ordered the Attorney General Githu Muiga to immediately form a legal panel that will advice government on how to respond to Monday's ruling by ICC pre-trial judges. The President has also for the umpteenth time ordered resettlement of IDPs.

Well, even the dissenting Judge Hans‐Peter Kaul has indirectly declared Kenya a failed state by acknowledging the gravity of the accusations which could be tried (but unable) locally.

The hot air about resettling the IDPs is another indictment of the government's inertia in addition to instituting local prosecutions to other PEV suspects.

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Wow, ninety years can surely arrive sooner in less than three calender years. Nobody saw this coming. Nobody predicted this verdict either. The post election violence victims had long resigned to their unfortunate fate of life in squalor. The IDPs have been left starring at another five-year wave of displacement. The suspects were thumbing their big chests rubbishing the ICC and mocking its ruling to have no bearing on their political careers. Most Kenyans had retreated to their tribal enclaves spoiling for the next polituical fight.

Well, the party has been rained on heavily. That soft-spoken diminutive figure, the Bulgarian Law Professor Ekaterina Trendafilova has struck hard where it hurts most. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has finally confirmed charges against four of the Ocampo 6. The ICC ruled that Uhuru Kenyatta, Francis Muthaura, William Ruto and Joshua Sang will stand trial over violence after the 2007 election. Meanwhile charges were not confirmed for both Henry Koskey and ex-police boss Hussein Ali. A sigh of relief but maybe not an acquittal.

All the Ocampo 6 were accused of crimes against humanity, including murder and persecution. What a delicate balancing act for the Judges to acquit and convict one and two from both sets of suspects. And that definitely opens the floodgates for imaginative conspiracy theorists.

The ICC ruling has been long coming and Kenyan politics will never be the same again. One thin is for sure impunity has been dealt a deadly blow. The cycle of political violence has been consigned to a very deep grave.

The ICC has made both political and legal statements. Kenya is bigger than the sum of her various tribal warlords and nobody is above the law. It has been a long time coming let the game begin.

One fundamental fact is discern able from this ICC ruling and that is court battles are never won with the press nor with theatrics. The only common denominator between Koskey and Ali was their humility and legal focus to fight their corner. On the other hand the convicted four had all their molars out playing to the gallery. Well, the judges had a different persuasion albeit unpleasant.

Thank God for small mercies, a Kenyan court would have seen plethora of counter injunctions by now. Don't mind the fact that such a case would have not taken off in the first place.

One thing is for sure, the 2012 general elections will be like no other and the face of Kenyan politics will never be the same again.

Wapi WIPER?

Make no mistake, the ICC verdict has just opened a can of worms. So far all we know is from Ocampo's redacted dose. Kenyans must brace themselves to handle the bitter and nasty truth when the true full trial begins. That is when suspects will cut deals and when the s*@t hits the fun your guess is as good as mine, NOBODY (repeat NOBODY) is safe nor immune to ICC coolers.

Now that ICC has separated the apples from guavas, Kenyans will predictably interpret the ruling under three themes: political, ethnic and personal. Well, the often forgotten fourth dimension that never mutates remain the TRUTH. Take your pick.

Guilty or innocent let this verdict be the straw that broke the camels back in regards to impunity in Kenya........ including harboring presidential ambitions while under the spotlight of international scrutiny!!

I don't take alcohol but I think I will take a bottle of Tusker today. I know some people will be angry and some may even riot ( hired jobless thugs and not any person who values his or her job!) But this is great news for us ALL as Kenyans and future generations. You can fool some people some of the the time, but you can't fool all the people (ICC Judges!) all the time. I know there are some "experts" here who will try and spin issues but the fact is we only know 50% of what really happened in 2008 violence. When full trial commences, there will emerge some very dirty accounts of what transpired. I hope Kenyans will be able to handle the truth! Meanwhile, ICC marches on in their quest to rope in the big two, Kibaki and Raila. Some of those confirmed today will definitely cut deals and spill the beans. Mambo bado..........

Even as we digest this incredible news on the fate of the Ocampo 4 let's not forget that there are some other 'big wigs' waiting on the sidelines to get their backsides barbecued.....such as Nancy Barasa whose fate should be known in the course of this week. Lucky for her that the Ocampo 4 news will ensure that any reference to her fate will be relegated to Page 9 of our dailies. Me thinks that it would be a good time for her to resign under cover of the din that is bound to be raised following the ICC decision.

even the dissenting judge agreed crimes were committed but questioned the Jurisdiction only"Judge Kaul appended a dissenting opinion in both cases. He maintains that the ICC is not competent because the crimes committed on the territory of the Republic of Kenya during the post‐election violence of 2007‐2008 in his view were serious common crimes under Kenyan criminal law, but not crimes against humanity as codified in Article 7 of the Rome Statute."

The definition of a failed state is when serious common crimes (as dissented to by Judge Kaul) commited in the Rome statute signatory country are unable to be tried within the Kenyan criminal law and have to be taken to the ICC on pretext of being crimes against humanity!

Oh and before i forget-WHERE ARE THE ANTI-WESTERN IMPERIALISTS to lament at Kenya's modern day slavery to the white man?mmmmmmhhh!

Celebration is in the air and even those who usually don't drink are going to order a drink or two (many) this special Monday.

It is NOT about Ruto and certainly it is NOT about Uhuru...

...Hey wait a minute, I can smell it now and if you are on the ground in Kenya you will also be able to smell it. Something burning... no roasting.

The sweet aroma is almost suffocating.

Yes it is the carcass of the most delicious animal you have ever tasted. Fat from over 40 years of feeding without mchezo.

The meat is succulent and delightful and even as Kenyans eat saliva drips down on the sides like water from a tap.

Aiiii!!!!

The name of the animal that has yielded such delicious nyama choma?

IMPUNITY of course.

Chris Kumekucha

P.S. As you make merry, my dear fellow Kenyans spare a toast for all those valiant (and not so valiant) souls who never lived to see this day, felled by the sword of impunity. Cheers, you didn't die in vain my brothers and sisters!!

Listen children and listen good. All your are celebrating are nothing but DELUSIONS and CHILDISH FANTASIES. You see the ICC is only there for Africans and never authentic because Ocampo and the judges are never paid in GOLD.

You guys need real education and must stop making the IMPERIALIST laugh at us. The opium session is here and you all are addressing the wrong question. The right question must be LAND/TAX/WEALTH/WAR. All else is delusions.

The problem with Kenyan courts all along has been that they follow Nancy Baraza's advice to the letter i.e. "they know people" a little too wellThank God ICC is not a Kenyan court where you can pinch someone's nose and kill and rape and get away with it!

Interestingly, not everyone who gambles with the ICC's process goes unscathed.

Especially anyone who dare thump their chest or nose at the ICC always ends up overwhelmed by the amount of evidence against them through self-incrimination and other critical evidence against them.

And that's one reasosn why many of the accused end up having a taste of international justice that in most cases would not be served in their home regions, countries or anywhere else.

On the other hand, the outcome of former police chief Hussein Ali's case was as predictable as it could be from the get-go, day one, in the eyes of any legal experts and among seasoned observers of ICC's mo in similar cases.

There was no way the ex police chief Hussein Ali would have been made to face the charges plus music alone without his counterpart, one in the person of K. Mbugua present as well.

All things taken into account, it stands to reason that there are three positions from which we're going to make judgments about our own strong views regarding the ICC's confirmation; namely political, ethnic and personal.

While a fourth position and the very nature of the ultimate reality that precipated the political crisis that led to one of the darkest chapters - post-election violence - in our nation's history will remain unexamined by many of us for obvious reasons - the business as usual tendency of burying our collective heads in the sands of convenient enclaves of ukabila.

Truth, however, is no respecter of mistaken judgments. That is the strange symmetry, the painful and redeeming reality of the nature of truth that will emerge from the ICC process.

We must never underestimate the legal muscle of the ICC. So, let the process begin and continue for as long as it will take until over due justice is served on behalf of the victims as well as anyone who will be found innocent.

A very very sad day for Kenya, today. I didnt know it would come to this. But, "ewe Mungu, we wachua sababu kwanini, tuya pitie hayo'. Oh LORD, u know why.

Grant them and their loved ones the strength and the peace of mind. We declare that u're God and there is none like u. Bless Hon. Ruto, Hon. Uhuru, Amb. Muthaura and arap Sang. May justice be our shield and defender.

We refuse to be heart-broken and our resolve to capture the presidency is even more stronger than ever before. They may be rejoycing now, but in the fullness of time, we shall have the last laugh. Amen.

The same professor of calclueless, one of the twenty-five politicians - stil in office - whose time sizzled and fizzled with the tyrannical rule of Mzee Daniel arap Moi, from September 1978 to December 2002.

A professor and others of his ilk who have utterly rejected and are admantly opposed to any study of continuously changing political and societal values in Kenya.

Come on! Bring him on including all the other so-called self-reinvented political front runners in KANU's clothing.

Bring them all and let's pit them against each other, only to unleash the like of Martha Karua and company in the second or final round.

And while at it, make sure that the reserved seats for women in 2013 do not become an exclusive reserve - political goodies and hand-me-downs - for the who-is-who in lame duck women's organisations like FIDA, etc.

But should be distributed or awarded equitably to young and qualified Kenyan women from all walks of life. No more, no less.

Some of us are going to cope with old proverb Gutiri Muthungu na mubia (there is no difference between the colonialist and the Catholic priest), which will soon be replaced with Gutiri Muthungu na ICC (there is no difference between those people... and the ICC).

It will all depend in anyone of the 42 languages one chooses to say it while keenly following the trial(s) at the ICC.

There is always a first time for everything, and the ICC's confirmation is one of them for the history books and a wake up lesson for the next four generations of Kenyans.

While no body may have seen it coming until the so-called pots of denial and baskets of hope against hope in our Kenyan villages were shuttered by ICC's juggernaut thundering through with its confirmation.

Life must go on, the country will have to move forward, and teachable moments such as the ICC's trial will have a lasting impact on generations [2030, 2050, 2070, & 2090] to come as well as the shaping of things to come in terms of Kenya's furture political landscape.

Whichever way one chooses to look at it, it's a very gloomy day for some and a very joyous occasion for others.

Both camps will just have to allow justice courtesy of the ICC to have the bigger say in the great scheme of things.

By the way, what became of the one time favourite political and ethnic slogan where we all loved to shout that everyone should carry their own wooden cross wihtout drugging the rest of us into predicaments that were of their own making?

Will William Ruto, Uhuru Kenyatta, Francis Muthaura and Joshua Sang carry their own wooded crosses in a kufa kikondo fashion?

Or will they try an incite their respective political parties and communities into trying to unburden them from the impending difficulty of bearing the crosses alone while out there, far and away, under the ICC's mercy?

Baba Jimmy has spoken! Ocampo4 is officially his last project before he retires and this time its no joke his legacy is at stake

Reverting the trial of PEV suspects to Kenya in the next 12 months will be his last grand act as 3rd president of the republic of Kenya before exiting stage left come December 2012 and leaving the Ocampo 4 in the safety of the Kenyan Criminal law and justice system which "knows people" pinchy pinchy

And its only January folks!good grief!what a January!what an election year! you can't make this stuff up

It's never right to celebrate or talk ill of a man who is down. But My sympathy is with Arap Sang. The rest have means yet him, he is short-handed!Mr Sang's goose was cooked by that Charles Keter's phone call to KASS FM from the Hague! While Sang was fighting to prove that him and his organisation were involved in PEV or capable of disseminating alleged code words, Keter was busy calling the station threatening people! This Keter was so full of himself and arrogant enough to call live from The Hague to brag that they knew who said what! How then did he expect ICC not to confirm that this station was indeed involved or capable of incitement while he was inciting victims and witnesses? Arap Sang your crucifier is Keter not Ocampo.

Thank God for the ruling the gods now have their sacrifice and raila 's goose is cooked with that ruling he just lost 40% mt kenya vote and 11% RV vote meaning the presidency has just slipped away from him ....now that calls for celebration

Oh yeah it is all Raila's fault. Speak of false security in numbers. That is what UK thought of instead of fighting his leagl battles at The Hague he chose to export our local tribal politics there. See the Judges had no time for theatrics not being articulate against Ocampo but legal facts. N

Now people can say Raila told Ocampo to spare Koskey as ODM chair. Well, tell it to the birds so that they can fly high in the sky.

Let's be honest that was a fair & balanced ruling. It was also a good thing that they opted to announce the confirmations for Cases 1 & 2 on the same day. Impunity has taken a big hit but they're not yet down for the count.

Mmmmmmmmm! a "RADICALLY" transformed judiciary system that's still tainted a misbehaving strong headed deputy chief justice, and overpopulated with lawyers who should be serving maximum terms in jail by now for various conduct unbecoming members of any the legal society that's worth its name, or even any where else?

@Anon 4:23 PMWe must be still on the same page about the misfortune of the IDPs and other maimed victims of PEV. What about all the confirmed dead Kenyans who perished during the struggle for the State House? How comes the likes of you and me have not been "energetically popped" about their current inhumane living conditions since 2008?

Fair and balanced just lost meaning where do the poeple who were killed in nyanza and their property destroyed who is being held accountable for that ? ICC is a political tool to keep Africans in their place Have you ever wondered why Ocampo never thought prudent to investigate crimes against humanity in El Salvador, Nicaragua or Argentina? These were regimes or rebels supported by the US and committed horrendous crimes to date thousands remain unaccounted for yet those crimes seem not to have caught ocampos attention

...the truth finally will prevail ... and the devil will be put to shame.

Sounds so cliche but let's hope it will come to pass in due course, unless the real devil and his legions made many of us including the top PNU and ODM senior politicians to do what we did in the first place during the post-election violence.

The ICC trial is going to be an instructive case study in the anatomy of a fall or rise of William S. Ruto, once the answers to the follwoing host of questions have satisfied the judges;

a)What really went wrong with William S. Ruto as alleged in the confirmed charges by the ICC?

b) Was William S. Ruto the only politician/person responsible for spearheading the post-election violent movement against innocent civilians?

c) Does the culpability rest solely on William S. Ruto's shoulders?

d) Did one William S. Ruto act in a vacuum or were there other accomplices?

e) WHY was William S. Ruto the only one who was selected (fingered) to take the fall on behalf of his comrades-in-arms?

f) What has happened to the property that - once - belonged to the internally displaced persons (Kenyans)?

e) And who stood to benefit or has already benefited from the spoils of post-election violence?

The devil is in the evidence gathered by the ICC and the court's prosecutor plus the defence lawyers will to go through it all with a fine legal comb that justice can provide.

The confirmation came as a crushing blow to many who had expected otherwise, and its devastating effects are yet to be felt by the 'Ocampo 4' and their loyal bands of supporters. Well, here is an advance apology to those who may be offended in one way or another. However, I have hunch that Mzee Muthaura may end up going out before the verdict is delivered at a future date, due to personal, legal and political pressure's involved. But let's hope it will not be the case given his recent medical history. But time will either tell or take its toll.

Anonymous said...What really went wrong with William S. Ruto......--------------------------------This William has hijacked the Samoei name to give the impression he is a descendant of the Kalenjin legend, Kotailel Arap Samoei. He is not. He is a suspect at the I.C.C. and that is all he will be remembered for. His given name is William Kipchirchir Arap Ruto.

@Isaa,Thanks a million. The snowball, call it kimbunga if you will, began rolling while ago and all the public can do the next couple of months, year or years is wait for an avalanche, or a touchdown to hit home sooner or later.

@Mutahi and co.,It seems impossible that we the people who sort justice in our darkest hour of need from a neutral higher ('international') court should so callously disregard it's ruling, let alone one of the most sordid chapter in our nation's history?

If I may ask, was yesterday considered a real 'Black Monday' by some of us to the point where folks like you are still ashamed to be identified as Kenyans? How so?

And how comes the last four years have never been considered as 'Black Eyed Years' (Blighted Years) by virtue of having thousands of internally displaced citizens of Kenya left to fend for themselves without any substantive government assistance and concern whatsoever from their fellow citizens?

By the way, was yesterday termed as a 'Black Monday' due to the fact that the ruling by the ICC was not in accordance with the political leanings, expectations and wishes of certain corncerned segments of the population?

Would yesterday have been considered a 'White Monday', a very joyous occasion or otherwise had the ICC's ruling been in favour of a dimissal?

Well, who is to blame for the collective momentary lapse in 07/08, when Kenyans unleashed a string of utter chaotic assaults and complete murderous mayhem that will continue to dishonour our nation for years to come?

The unfortunate cause of events - PEV - have proved to be a tragic turning point in our lives, ethnic cohesion, nation's political future, and it will take several decades to remedy the situation.

Kenya kuna mafar(l)a wengi.From one side of the mouth, you praise the new constitution and how its going to eliminate corruption, bring equality and other hogwash.From the other side of the mouth you praise ICC for making a ruling to the whole world that as a country, with a brand new katiba, we are not mature enough and our laws are useless to prosecute PEV suspects.

Wow, ninety years can surely arrive sooner in less than three calender years. Nobody saw this coming.

xxx

What?

Nooooooo. Not the African Teacher. He is WISE enough to see things decades ahead.

xxx

"The ICC ruling has been long coming and Kenyan politics will never be the same again. One thin is for sure impunity has been dealt a deadly blow. The cycle of political violence has been consigned to a very deep grave."

xxxxx

ILLUSIONS, DELUSIONS and CHILDISH FANTASIES as USUAL.

xxxx

Listen folks. And, listen good.

The main issue is forgotten in the usual rubbish talk.

The question is NOT whether:

(a) crimes were committed. They were.

(b) It is not whether the 4 are responsible or not.

The REAL ISSUE remains, what is the VERA CAUSA of all this?

This is the question that should have occupied our minds. However, we celebrate as we treat SYMPTOMS instead of treating the CAUSE.

Without removing the CAUSE, you celebrate in vain and your own enslavement.

In simple words the KANGAROO ICC is:

- EQUAL to the Portuguese REGIMENTO of 1512.

Anyway, since that is ANCIENT HISTORY which has no meaning in the 21st Century, we leave thee with this:

"Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon on trial."

"Judge Baltasar Garzon is accused of breaking an amnesty law, when he tried to investigate alleged human rights abuses, committed during Spain's civil war and during the dictatorship of Franco that followed."

This Githu guy is stupid beyond belief! Ati they are charged as individuals!They are charged with crimes against humanity. Because they are kikuyus that's why they are not told to go. Githu you are a disgrace to scholars.

MUTAHI NGUNYI SAYS THAT HE HAS NO RESPECT FOR KIBAKI AND THAT IF UHURU BLAMED HIS PREDICAMENT ON KIBAKI,THEN KIKUYUS ARE LIKELY TO SEE HIM AS A HERO WHO SNATCHED A COMMUNITY FROM KIBAKI AS RUTO DID TO MOI!

people forget that Kikuyus are not one when it comes to elections.Remember matiba's 1997 time? Uhuru's 2002 elections?

Then what Uhuru would reconsolidate is Kiambu-not Nyeri,Muranga,Embu,Nyandarua or cousins in Meru.

It is likely that true to his colours,Kiabki will hang Muthaura. Uhuru is also on his own. kibaki does not give a damn so long as there is no pain within statehouse.

All suspects should concentrate on their cases as "individuals".Communities will not help.

and above all,may the innocent be set free.may the IDPs get justice and may the guilty face the full force of the law.

As Mutahi says, kibaki's legacy will be that of leading Kenya to a civil war(sworn at night for which Uhuru and Muthaura are amswering for),Collapsed the economy,Worst Tribalism and corruption,besides the worst Exchange rate for Kenya shilling.Even moi's time never saw the shilling at such lows). Sadly,leaders are never remembered for any good they did like the 30 km tarmaked Thika road.

Do I detect righteous outrage and indignation about the continued stay of Uhuru & Muthaura? I snort in derision because I saw this coming! The government's nose has been bloodied by the ICC decision and to ask these chaps to leave office would make them look vulnerable to outside interference with domestic issues. Hence the AG must play to the tune of his masters even when public opinion appears unequivocal about their expectations. There is no doubt that the two will leave office...........but will have to be at their time and on their terms to make a loud and mighty political statement and get maximum mileage out of their leaving office.........and more importantly GK's dignity remains intact!!

Now you understand why the AG post was non-negotiable. No wonder the guy sees red when confornted with legal challenges from Charles Nyachae. And we thought smiling Amos Wako was a puppet? Well auctioning Kenya is still incomplete till the last drop of blood.

"Khan further said even if they don’t succeed in an appeal, the trials will prove the truth. “It is our very strong view knowing the cases we do that either we will prevail on an appeal or leave is granted or even if not, when the full facts are known; when we have the opportunity to confront not reference statements but REAL people, the truth will out.”

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 23 – The Head of the Civil Service Francis Muthaura has announced he will appeal against the decision of the International Criminal Court which ruled on Monday he should face trial for crimes against humanity.

Addressing the media at Harambee House, his lawyer Karim Khan QC said he would lodge an appeal with the war crimes court following the decision.

“Like in a football match, this is only half time and we are going to seek in due course, leave to appeal so that maybe the referee’s decision may be questioned. It is half time, there is all to play for. Don’t be celebratory, wait and allow justice to run its course,” he asserted.

Khan further said even if they don’t succeed in an appeal, the trials will prove the truth. “It is our very strong view knowing the cases we do that either we will prevail on an appeal or leave is granted or even if not, when the full facts are known; when we have the opportunity to confront not reference statements but real people, the truth will out.”

Muthaura’s lead counsel said they did not expect the court to confirm the charges against the career diplomat describing the news as a shocker. “We are immensely disappointed and very surprised by Monday’s decision given the evidence we put forward and the submissions we made.”

Anon 1/24/12 12:39 AMThere is need of flying off the handle and jumping to conclusions by painting Kenyans with one shallow stroke of your myopic brush. You know what they say about calling others mafala or baradhuli. Eeeeeh! Nyani haoni nini?